A bit of advice please....clownfish pairing...

[RobinC]

Question for any clown breeders out there. I just lost an older female black frosted snowflake to edema. (liver failure) Was told she was four, but could have been older. I now have a male without a female, for a week now, a small wild percula normal, entirely too small to try a match...he's 2 inches, perc barely an inch. And one ocelleris (probably female due to size) solo in main tank that is impossible to catch, and has thus far ignored the trap, about a year old. Should I stand my ground and try to catch the ocelleris, add the perc, or look for another snowflake female....? I have room for 3 pairs. 1 spot left. I do not wish for my male to transition to female alone in his tank. I have a hard time thinking about buying another, when I currently have 3 singles. But.....I am not sure if males who lose their mates automatically transition to female, or if I have some time. I would like the wild-caught perc to grow more, and add some good genes back into our overly-incest bred clownfish pool....lol

 

[KrisReef]

Everyone needs time to grieve before they start dating again. He may have always wanted to be a she and he will need time to decide that also. When people select matés for their fish the results are not guaranteed to be happy or healthy. Proceed with caution and I hope that this works out well for everyone. Sorry about the loss of your clownfish.

 

[Uncle99]

It takes months for a transition to occur so you have time.
I was a little confused in the post of who’s who and where they are.
Whenever you add a clown, adding one 1/2” to 3/4” should always be a sexually immature male.

The 2” clown is very likely a female, the less than 1” likely a immature male so these two have a good chance to pair.

You certainly don’t want 2 females, that’s not going to work out.

It is always more likely to pair when the species and coloration are the same.

Perhaps I misunderstand your post.

Below is a mated pair which reproduce regularly.

The small male was added at 3/4” when the first male died.




Maybe some of this blah blah can help you decide.

 

[RobinC]

It takes months for a transition to occur so you have time.
I was a little confused in the post of who’s who and where they are.
Whenever you add a clown, adding one 1/2” to 3/4” should always be a sexually immature male.

The 2” clown is very likely a female, the less than 1” likely a immature male so these two have a good chance to pair.

You certainly don’t want 2 females, that’s not going to work out.

It is always more likely to pair when the species and coloration are the same.

Perhaps I misunderstand your post.

Below is a mated pair which reproduce regularly.

The small male was added at 3/4” when the first male died.




Maybe some of this blah blah can help you decide.

The 2 inch snowflake was the male of the pair, the female was about 2 1/2 inches.

 

[Uncle99]

The 2 inch snowflake was the male of the pair, the female was about 2 1/2 inches.

Ok, so if you want to safely try and pair it, you would add a sexually immature male (leased risk) , or, a known male, (which is more risky)

All combinations dont always work, but more yes, than no.

Two females of course will never work, male can change to female, but not back.